European Parliament president instructs television cameras to cut away when
MEPs mount protests with placards

The president of the European Parliament wants an effective broadcasting ban on MEPs who wave placards in debates, amid fears that the Strasbourg assembly is becoming a “circus”.

Martin Schulz has ordered the chamber's in-house television crews to cut away from MEPs who brandish signs or wear t-shirts as visual props, claiming that they “encourage” the 750 elected members to “misbehave”.

Mr Schulz has also requested a reduction in the number of photographers permitted to work on the floor of the chamber.

Insiders blame an outbreak of tomfoolery on the growing numbers of MEPs - who earn a basic salary of £76,000 a year - from the radical left and right in the 2014 elections.

In September Mr Schulz was left irate after Gianluca Buonanno, of Italy’s Lega Nord, donned a mask of Angela Merkel and left his seat to shake hands with Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker as he delivered his State of the Union Address, the solemn centrepiece of the European calendar.

talian Member of the European Parliament Gianluca Buonanno (L) wears a mask depicting German Chancellor Angela Merkel as he shakes hands with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker Photo: REUTERS

“This is being financed by the European tax payer!” Mr Schulz complained.

Other MEPs have employed visual aides to demonstrate against the EU-US trade deal and in support of the Palestinian cause.

Mr Schulz, who is seeking to cement the legitimacy of what he calls the ‘home of European democracy’ in the eyes of voters, raised the matter at a meeting of the governing bureau last Wednesday.

Nigel Farage, British Member of the European Parliament and leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), has an 'Oxi' (No) placard on his desk as he reads in papers during the plenary session with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (unseen) at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 08 July 2015

According to a leaked note of the meeting, “Schulz asked the Audio Video Services of the Parliament to reduce the number of photographers present in the Plenary and not to photograph or film Members misbehaving in Plenary (showing posters, t-shirts etc) [so as] not to encourage inappropriate conduct.”

A second source told the Telegraph it was an accurate account. Mr Schulz's spokesman confirmed he had asked the television services not to focus on "members who are staging a demonstrations" because the TV service is "primarily meant to be a record of parliamentary proceedings".

He wants to limit the number of photographers to prevent a "scramble" around guest speakers, he said.

Debates are streamed online by the parliament's television service, which also provides clips to international broadcasters.

The edict angered Mike Hookem, a Ukip MEP who in January addressed the chamber wearing a t-shirt in support of Alex Blackman, the Royal Marine jailed for murdering an Afghan fighter on the battlefield.

“This is undemocratic totalitarianism. We are there to get our point across, and sometimes the best way to do that is visually.

“MEPs of all denominations will carry on and we will fight against this.”

At the opening of the new session of parliament, Ukip MEPs protested by turning their backs as an orchestra played Ode to Joy, the EU anthem.

Ukip MEP Nigel Farage is unimpressed as President Juncker kisses the forehead of the European Parliament Martin Schulz